


Defender's Return: Crystal and Iron Lions

by dragonrose19



Series: Defender's Return [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Additional tags will be added as I go, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Fluff and Smut, I am putting my foot down, I wil make you cry, Lions that need at least a two-pilot crew EACH, Major Fix, Multi, New Lions!, Shameless Smut, This won't be all that long I think, so many original characters, when I get there you will NEED to change your pants
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2018-11-06 07:42:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11031687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonrose19/pseuds/dragonrose19
Summary: Long Ago, Voltron was not the ONLY Defender of The Universe. But what happened to the others? The Crystal and Iron Lions have found their new crews after 10,000 years and have rejoined the fight alongside the Paladins. The Mage & Warrior of Adamantia, The Crystal Lion, Hideki and Tatsuma. The Scouts of Titanicles, The Iron Lion, Brian, Dani, Lane and Orazal with her daughter. The Past and the true reason behind the War will be revealed with their arrival, perhaps some Love as well? Pop in and see where this rollercoaster is heading!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> WE HAVE A TUMBLR!! you can find us over at our official tumblr: ask-dex.tumblr.com  
> We are all more than happy to answer any questions so come say hi!!

**So here we go, a whole other AU. This time for Voltron and yes, I WILL still be working on the Tokyo Ghoul piece but this needs to be worked on too.  Let’s do this.**

**_*_*_*_**

Something worse than the Kerberos mission had happened to the Garrison. Three cadets and a dropout had _literally vanished off the face of the planet_. Dani had brought my brother and I the gossip direct from the source, no publicity team filters. The pilot of the Kerberos mission _somehow_ reappeared on earth and these four kids rescued him just before all five of them disappeared _again_. Tatsuma and I were shocked to say the least, Lane said that they deserved it, Brian cracked a joke, and then Orazal was in labor so it was quickly dismissed.

It’s been a week since then, Tatsu and I have been having nightmares without an end in sight. We were at the kitchen island, exhausted but awake all the same. He put a mug of coffee down in front of me, earning himself a glare.

“C’mon Dex, you need the caffeine and we both know it. Neither of us want to fall asleep again tonight,” he sighed. I huffed and took the sludge.

“Why did he do it? That’s all I can think, why disobey the law? Was that guy really worth his life?” I mumbled mostly to myself. Tatsu shrugged.

“Maybe he thought the Being he loved and the kid they made together were worth the risk,” he mused. We sat there in silence a while, my brother staring into space and myself looking at all the pictures on the walls. I smiled at the photo of the day I first came home, Tatsuma and I standing with our arms wrapped around each other tightly as 16-year-olds could grip was forever frozen in time. The Saturos family adopted their oldest son’s best friend and I never looked back. I had a new name, a new life, and a family that actually cared. We met the other four after we graduated high school and we were inseparable, even now.

“I think I get it now,” I whispered. Tatsu followed my line of sight and just smiled.

There was a god-awful noise outside, like a plane crashing in a film, startling us completely awake. We looked each other in the eye and rushed out the front door. It was huge, iridescent even though it appeared to be made of metal, and was obviously more advanced than anything we’d ever seen. It… _was a Lion?_ It looked down at us, crouching to get closer and get a better look at us. A flash of the dreams crossed my mind.

“Crystal? Is that you?” She purred loud enough to wake the neighborhood at my question. I laughed, hysterical and disbelieving. Tatsu ran right up and hugged her nose, crying.

“Stay here,” I ordered. I ran back in, hurriedly packing a bag full of clothes and other essentials for me. Taking the same pace back out and then inside again, filling my milk crates with all the necessities for my craft I took my last trip outside. Tatsu ran in then as I approached Crystal carefully.

“Could you... open up for me? So I can start loading things while we wait for my brother?” I asked softly. She opened her mouth with a pleased rumble, allowing me access to her cockpit and lowering the ramp so I could get in easier. Loading was easy, everything stowed in her storage locker. I had choked at the sight of the armor and Bayard’s, gingerly setting them aside. As soon as all my things were put up, I changed, donning the armor of my predecessor. I knew which set was mine, the twin Bayards felt good in my hands and the bright red sash wrapped tight around my waist helped me steady myself.

“You look good bro,” Tatsuma called out as he cautiously entered Crystal’s mouth, “I told Dani we were doing something incredibly stupid.”

“How’d she take that?” I laughed, turning to help him with the last of the stuff.

“She was pissed we decided to do this without her,” he responded with a smile.

We finished packing everything up pretty quickly after that, Tatsu pulling on his own armor, before we stepped into her cockpit for the first time. I went to the right-hand pilot’s seat instinctively as Tatsuma went to the left, something inside us already aware of what we needed to do. As we sat down the controls coming to hand immediately, and then we were off, rocketing into the late-night sky toward the stars. That’s when we blacked out.

 

**_*_*_*_**

I jolted awake, breathing hard, my brother cussing like crazy beside me. _What the fuck was that? What just happened?_ We were being fired at until another giant robo lion flew past us taking out the small fighter easily. I pulled on my helmet quickly.

“Tatsuma! Headgear on,” I snapped, “Adamantia I need you to patch us through to the Paladins. Now if you can.” Suddenly there was shouting from five unknown voices in my ears.

**_“Lance what were you thinking?! They could be with Zarkon for all we know!”_ **

**_“Well Keith, I was thinking there was another lion and that it was clearly in distress!”_ **

**_“Enough you two! Focus, we need to form Voltron!”_** I had enough at that point.

“You do know that we can hear you guys just fine over here, right?” I sighed.

“Yeah guys, talk about rude. Quick news flash: We’re not with Zarkon,” my brother scoffed. Silence reigned for a moment and then the comms exploded again, asking who we were and how we had tapped into the comm network. A small fighter attempted to fire on the Blue Lion and I reacted almost like Crystal was controlling me, raising a shield between the two to prevent any damage. The blast ricocheted back, taking out the fighter before the shield flickered out and giving Blue a chance to get their bearings.

 ** _“Thanks for that,”_** he called over the comms, **_“I’m Lance by the way.”_**

“I’m Hideki, my co-pilot here is my brother Tatsuma. Now let’s focus on the battle that’s raging around us, shall we?” I teased. That got a few laughs from the other end as I turned to focus on what was happening, knowing somewhere in the back of my mind that Crystal couldn’t see very well and relied on us to act as her eyes when our helmets were on.

“Ok, Bro-Bro, how do you wanna do this?” Tatsu sighed.

“Run on the Lion’s instincts and pray we don’t die?” I suggested softly. He shrugged.

“Sounds good enough to me.”

Crystal might as well have been piloting herself, we maneuvered amongst all these Star Wars type gliders and did whatever we felt was right to take them out while still protecting the other lions. There was a curse over the comms that sounded like that Keith person.

**_“This isn’t working! There’s way too many of these things, we need Voltron!”_ **

**_“I hate to say it but he’s right,”_** Lance huffed, **_“Problem is they aren’t letting us anywhere near each other.”_** Something clicked in the back of my head and I facepalmed at exactly the same time as Tatsuma did.

 _“Adamantia,”_ we hissed in frustration.

 ** _“What?”_** another voice asked.

“Voltron wasn’t the only Universal Defender, although he was seen more often in the home systems. There were two others that typically went on longer range missions. Crystal is one of them,” I babbled excitedly.

“Leave this one to us you guys!” My brother crowed. We pulled back on our controls, flipped the lock, and swiveled them toward the other’s. Once they touched we flipped the lock back into position and the change began. Within the cockpit, the seats moved back and away, sinking down as a larger circular platform rose up. We jumped on, bayards out, ready for what was coming next. I placed the grips of my bayards together and Tatsu rested his, grip down, on top of them. The air around us felt charged as we spoke, _“Holy Duality: Engage!”_

The bayards lit up, bright enough to blind, transforming into a large broadsword and a two-handed shield. We were seeing things through Adamantia’s eyes now, pulling away from each other in order to properly wield our weapons and defend her.

 ** _“That is so cool! How did you do that?”_** a smaller voice, probably younger than the others, squealed into the comms.

**_“We can ask questions later, right now we need to form up while they’re distracted.”_ **

**_“Fine, but you better not keep me away from them after this Shiro. I will cause trouble!”_ **

**_“I’m with Pidge on this one,”_** another voice. How many guys were on this team?

I swung my shield, quickly covering our exposed side as Tatsu swung wide and wiped out a good portion of the small fleet. Voltron flew through our field of vision, taking out more ships and covering our back. Adamantia beeped a warning for an incoming video transmission.

“Should we?” Tatsu mused as he struck down a few more.

“Might as well. Put it through please,” I called to our defender politely.

The face that filled the screen shocked the air out of my lungs, Crystal filling in the memories and a name echoing in my mind. He cut an imposing figure, skin a dark shade of lavender and eyes glowing neon of the same color only much paler. The armor was meant to be intimidating but also appeared to be functional. I knew that face as well as my own, had seen it through the eyes of the Mage that came before me. _Zarkon._

 ** _“How is it that you came into possession of that Lion? I will not be ignored,”_** the feed of the video distorted his voice a bit. I still shivered though, this guy meant business and my brother could sense it too. The being on the video screen’s eyes narrowed.

 ** _“I will not ask again.”_** I HATE being talked down to, I refuse to stand for that.

“Well, I hate to break it to you _sweetheart_ , but she found us. And if you really think you scare me? You have another thing coming,” I growled. He seemed shocked at me snapping back at him, clearly not used to being treated as anything short of a God.

“You’ll have to go through her to get at us and the way she acts about us, _you’ll have to pry us from her cold dead paws._ I have a feeling that you don’t exactly wanna damage her though,” my brother purred smugly.

 _“Cut transmission,”_ we called out. The screen immediately vanished and we got back to wiping the floor with the fleet around us, Voltron severely damaging the main warship.

 ** _“Hideki and Tatsuma right?”_** a voice, Shiro’s, called over the comm.

“What’s up?” Tatsu chirped as he slashed another wave of ships.

 ** _“We’re returning to the Castle, you coming?”_** Lance answered just as enthusiastically. We called back an affirmative as we disengaged from each other and returned to the pilot’s chairs, carefully maneuvering the dual pilot flight system.

Adamantia had returned to her lion form by the time we landed, heading straight into the Black Lion’s hangar bay no matter how hard we tried to steer her and then promptly ejecting us as soon as she was sure both her paws were on the ground.

“Not cool dude!” I shouted after her. She ignored me in favor of getting cozy with her room-mate, who had also ejected their pilot to the hangar floor and my brother went to help him up. As soon as the helmet came off, I nearly swooned and had to put all concentration into not falling on my ass. _Holy shit, he’s HOT._

He was a hell of a lot taller than me and Tatsuma, sporting a black undercut with a tuft of white hair falling over his forehead and a scar across the bridge of his nose. He looked pretty damn muscular underneath his armor and stood like he had all the confidence in the world, but I could see the tightness in his shoulders from lack of sleep. He smiled at us, a bit embarrassed as he shook our hands.

“Nice to meet you guys, I’m Shiro and that oversized jerk over there is Black. He doesn’t usually act that way,” he joked. I pulled off my helmet and smiled back.

“Nice, again, to meet you Shiro. I’m Hideki and that’s my brother Tatsuma,” I introduced as Tatsu just waved politely from behind me. I heard the door that led to the rest of the ship open and a large group scampering into the hangar.

I turned around and came nose to nose with one of the others. He was clearly some kind of Latino, bright blue eyes set in caramel gold skin and a mop of soft brown hair top it off. He was at least in his late teens, a bit skinny and fairly tall as well. He seemed like the most enthusiastic of the bunch, his smile almost too big for his face.

“Hi! I’m Lance, I guess you’re Hideki?” he babbled.

“Yup,” I laughed. He seemed like a good guy. The youngest of the group based off her size, pounced us next. Her hair was cut in an uneven way, large circular framed glasses protecting curious golden brown eyes. She was about my height, give or take an inch and just as thin, but it was all lean muscle from the way she moved. Her smile was all mischief.

“I’m Pidge,” she introduced, “So about your Lion?” I was laughing too hard at her eagerness, so Tatsuma had to answer her.

“If you can get her attention you’re more than welcome to check her out, just don’t get at her inner workings and don’t upset her. Otherwise, have a ball kid.” She was gone the second he finished and another curious face peeked over. He was the tallest of them all, deep brown skin the color of sunbaked earth, black hair with an orange ribbon tied around his forehead to keep his bangs from his bright brown eyes. I figured he was islander of some kind, reminding me of the Saturos clan a bit when it came to physical traits. He was broad across the shoulders and had some pretty serious muscle, softened out by a layer of chub that made him seem cuddly. He carried himself the way I usually did when my anxiety kicked in and I gave him the warmest expression I could, making my posture as non-threatening as possible.

“I’m Hunk. Um, do you mind if I check out your lion with Pidge?” He was clearly excited, on the edge of stuttering from the looks of it. I patted his shoulder gently.

“You go right ahead, Honey, I doubt Crystal would mind the attention.”

He smiled as wide as Lance had and bounced over to where Pidge was fussing over our lion. The last of the group hung back, violet eyes watching us suspiciously. He had a fluffy black mullet, porcelain skin, and a frown that looked more like a pout. He had his arms crossed and was wound up tighter than a rattlesnake that had just been stepped on. Shiro came up next to us, with a sigh and a look of fond exasperation.

“That’s Keith. He’s not good with strangers,” he explained.

“That’s fine. I’ve got a similar issue but it’s mostly because of my anxiety,” I teased gently. Keith just huffed, but he seemed to relax a bit.

 **“WHAT IS GOING ON DOWN HERE?!”** I jumped behind my brother at the shout, shaking and wide eyed. Yelling was not good for my nerves and I did not feel like hyperventilating right now.

The woman that stalked in was tall too, skin a couple of shades darker than Hunk’s. Bright pink marks decorated the apples of her cheeks, putting emphasis on eyes a paler shade of blue than Lance’s and all framed by a shock of silver white hair swept into a high bun. She was all feline power as she stalked over to us, radiating fury. The man that scrambled in after her was older than her by a fair bit with a heck of a mustache, hair a bright flaming orange and purple eyes framed by cheery teal markings like the woman’s. Lance and Shiro had moved between them and us. Keith was hovering on my right, Pidge and Hunk coming up to cover our backs.

“What is the meaning of this Shiro? Who are they?” The woman demanded.

“Easy, Princess, they are the pilots of the other Lion in the hangar. They have every right to be here,” Shiro explained firmly. The man stumbled a bit.

“ _Quiznak!_ That’s the Crystal Lion, but she went missing before the war!” He shouted excitedly. I looked at him a bit closer, a name slipping through my mind.

“Coran?” I said softly. He froze, turning to the two of us in surprise and calming a bit.

“Yes. I’m guessing you’re her pilots?” He answered in a gentle voice.

Tatsu nodded, “Allow us to introduce ourselves properly. My name is Tatsuma Saturos, I’m the Warrior of Adamantia, Left-Hand Pilot of the Crystal Lion. Please, feel free to call me Tatsu.” I partly came out from behind him and tried to stand strong.

“My name is Hideki Saturos. I’m the Mage of Adamantia, Right-Hand Pilot of the Crystal Lion. You guys can call me Dex if you want, but honestly I prefer Hideki.”

“That’s why you know my name isn’t it?” Coran asked. I nodded shyly, fading behind my brother’s back again. “I’m not too surprised. The previous Mage had a very deep bond with her as well, she connects with you on another level than the Paladins with the Elemental Lions I think.”

“I don’t understand, Coran, you’re acting as if Voltron was not the only defender. Father never spoke of another Lion,” the woman snapped.

“Allura, your father didn’t tell you because it was his greatest failure. The Crystal and Iron Lions as well as the Iron Lion’s crew abandoned the Altean Empire. The previous Mage and Warrior gave their lives to protect certain information,” Coran explained, “He refused to explain it to you in order to ensure your faith in the only remaining Defender of the Universe.”

“Wait, there’s another Lion?” Pidge squealed.

“Yes, Titanicles. He’s a Ranger-Class Destroyer ship,” I answered. She whipped around to stare at me in awe, stepping closer.

“What about Crystal then? What kind of ship is she?”

“Druid-Class Battle Cruiser,” I replied automatically. “And before you ask, Voltron is a Paladin-Class Royal Defense ship.”

“That’s so cool!” Pidge was absolutely beaming at the information. Hunk was bouncing on the balls of his feet, eyes sparkling and looking to have a million questions.

“Where’s the other one?” Keith spoke up, “I mean if you guys are here then why isn’t this other team?” Crystal pushed against my mind again at that, flooding me with information.

“Iron is on Earth. He was sharing a hiding place with Crystal and woke when she did, he’s already located his new crew. From the way things look, the new Scouts are all descended from the original group. They asked him to rendezvous in a few days while they gather supplies,” I replied softly. Blinking, I found everyone staring at me in shock except for Coran. He was just excited. My brother patted my head gently and let me hide behind him again.

“Well then. Looks like we’ll have to be ready for more pilots,” Tatsu joked.

“Why didn’t my Father tell me all this?” Allura seemed hurt by the information. Coran wrapped an arm around her shoulder and turned to smile at the rest of us.

“Why don’t we all head to the commons area? The two of you can come back here to check on her later if you’d like.” We trailed after the others through the maze-like halls quietly.

I was in space. Gods know how far from home, but I had my brother. And that at least was a start.

 

**_*_*_*_**

 

**Okay so that’s the first one down. The Second will, hopefully, also be out today. I’ll see you guys when I finish the next one. I can’t tell you how long this will be over all, but I’m looking forward to the ride. Thanks everybody.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay Chapter 2 is live. We have an Ask Blog on Tumblr by the way. Come find us at ask-dex.tumblr.com The songs I used in this chapter are (in order): INNA featuring J Balvin, Cola Song. Chase Holfelder, “The Reason” by Hoobastank (MINOR KEY VERSION). The second one Hideki actually sings in full so I recommend listening to the whole thing, but if you like the first one then by all means enjoy it. Hideki only does the second line of the chorus though.**

**_*_*_*_**

I hefted up the last two boxes, blocking my vision as I slowly started to walk down the ramp and out of the hangar. I could feel Crystal and Black watching me to make sure I didn’t fall over or trip. The hallways to the bunk I would be sharing with my brother were a little harder to navigate but I was managing alright. Until I bumped into somebody. Hands shot out to steady me, one hand bracing my arm and the other firmly gripping my right hip.

“Woah! Careful there,” Lance chuckled.

“Sorry, can’t really see past these. You okay?” I joked back. We had hit it off pretty well earlier, chattering on about skin care routines and siblings that were too much sometimes. I loved my brother but there were days I just _really_ wanted to punch him. In the dick.

“I’m fine, you need an extra hand? I’m happy to help,” he chirped.

“Nah, I’m good. Sí necesito ayuda, sí preguntarlo. Bien contigo?” I teased. He took the box off the top and grinned from ear to ear, his eyes sparkling bright enough to blind.

“Sí hablas español? En serio?” He insisted,” Okay now I have to help you with these. I haven’t heard Spanish in months!”

“I was born and raised on the Texas-Mexico border, so to be fair I actually speak Tex-Mex but yes. Spanish is kinda necessary,” I laughed. Angling myself so that I was basically herding the Blue Paladin, we continued the trek to my room.

“So can Tatsu speak it too? That’d be so cool!”

“No, he can’t sadly. He speaks some Tagalog though.”

“Tag-a- what now?”

“Tagalog. Him and the family are phillipino,” I explained. His eyes narrowed.

“Well what about you then?” he asked suspiciously. I smirked.

“ _Soy Latino y la noche we own it baby, okay let’s party say olé~_ ” I crooned smoothly.

“ _Olé!_ You can sing too? For real?” I laughed at that, shooting a look that made panties drop and watching him visibly shiver. I prowled closer, cornering him against the wall and standing up on my toes to press my lips to his ear.

“I can do all kinds of things, _Hermoso_ , but you’re gonna have to work harder than that to find out more.” Dropping the box I was carrying on top of the one still in his hands, I lifted them both back up into my arms and scampered off to the bunk I was sharing with my brother.

Tatsuma looked up when I walked into the room, doors sliding shut behind me as I placed the boxes next to the desk. He narrowed his eyes at me.

“You picked on somebody, didn’t you?” he deadpanned.

“Oh relax, I only teased him. Were you able to put the stuff in my milk crates away?” I replied.  An over exaggerated sigh and a hand reaching over my shoulder to point at the shelves above the desk was exactly the answer I expected.

Jars of dried herbs, ground up eggshells, salt, and a dozen other things lined them neatly. Crystals and stones were among the line of jars, all the tools I used organized on the desks. The velvet pouches that held my runestones and my Oracle Cards were hanging from small hooks. I smiled brightly at my brother.

“You remembered my setup from home?” I asked softly. He wrapped me in a hug.

“Of course I did,” he spoke just as quietly, “You spent so much time at your desk so I thought it should be as much like the one back home as I could get it.”

“Thank you,” I whispered as I leaned back into the hold. He put his chin on top of my head and just hummed. The sounds from the main hall filtered through the corridors. We had declined interacting with the locals and instead went to finish unpacking all our stuff, although it was mostly because I didn’t do very well in crowds. My brother always stuck with me.

“You should go down. If anybody can get to know them and actually talk to them it’s you,” I insisted. He snorted.

“Nah, I like hanging out with you better. That Princess scares me anyhow,” Tatsu joked.

“Suit yourself.” And then there was an explosion, loud enough to make our eardrums ring and shake the foundations of the castle. _Not good._

“Air vents?” I proposed as I snagged our helmets.

“Air vents,” Tatsu’s voice echoed back down. I looked up to see his feet disappearing into the ceiling and quickly followed him up, passing his helmet over to him as soon as I could. We went by memory, winding our way through maze of shafts toward the control room. We froze at the voices that came from directly below us.

Something in the back of my mind short-circuited and the world went black.

 

**_*_*_*_**

_“Helios,” A voice called. A woman, My Mother, was trying to wake me. She chuckled, “Come now Cub. Wake up.” I whined, animal-like, and another voice echoed mine from next to me. Another laugh from farther off, deeper in tone, Father._

_“Let them sleep, My Love, I can go without a good-bye before such a long-term assignment outside the Home System.” I was awake and moving at that, scrambling from the nest and racing for him. Another thump and Mother’s laughter signaling my brother was close behind._

_He was so tall, at least eight and a half feet, with smooth fur that was a dark plum color. The markings were a pale lavender that looked almost white, spots like a snow leopard’s running from his neck over his shoulders. They followed the line of his spine, framing it from either side, along the sides of his arms and thighs. He peered at us over his shoulder, amusement dancing in golden eyes that practically glowed from within the racoon like mask in the same pale color. His ears and tail reminded me of a Fennec Fox’s, the large appendages atop his head turned to track our approach and silently laugh at his Cubs as he finished dressing._

_I crashed into his side, nuzzling into the short fur of his hip and listened to my brother’s muffled gekker from the opposite side. Father rumbled softly, his tail coming up to wrap around us. I held on tighter, not wanting him to leave us for so long._

_“Do you have to go?” I whined. My brother piped in then too._

_“Please don’t leave! We want you here,” he insisted. Father cooed at us, kneeling down and pulling us both into a tight hug._

_“Helios, Nyx, listen to me now. I’m a General for the Empire, so yes I do have to go, but I’ll be home before you know it. The two of you will be so busy assisting the First Prince you won’t even realize it’s time for me to return until I walk through the door. And you have your Mother as well,” Father soothed. He nuzzled and scented us thoroughly, “I love you my Cubs. Take care of yourselves, heed your Mother and do the Prince proud.”_

_“It’s almost time,” Mother said gently in a voice that was barely above a whisper. Father gave us one last squeeze before standing and going to where Mother stood with his travel pack, bending down to press their foreheads together. He pressed a kiss to her Bond Mark and then another to her lips before taking his pack, walking out the front door. He only turned back once to wave goodbye._

_We didn’t realize it would be the last time we’d ever see him._

**~+~**

_“This is dull, can’t we do something else? Like spar?” The First Prince sighed heavily. I scoffed, smacking him over the back of the head and gaining a yelp._

_“No, we cannot ‘Do something else’ Your Highness. You have to study politics of allied systems if you ever want to be successful as an Emperor,” I scolded. My brother laughed at the Royal’s predicament, left ear rotating toward the door just as it opened and the Emperor himself walked in. His face was drawn and weary, the weight of his position visibly heavy on his shoulders. Nyx and I stepped back as one, bowing as the Prince stood and went to greet his father. The Emperor sighed and waved off the guards that had followed him in, our Mother noticeably absent from her usual place as Advisor by his side._

_“Druids, it is the two of you I wish to speak with. Although you are welcome to remain Son,” he spoke. We looked at each other discreetly as we stood up._

_“Your Excellency?” I spoke up, my brother’s ears focused on the Emperor._

_“It pains me to inform you of this, especially after your Mother’s reaction. General Rylaz, your Father, and his fleet were ambushed. There were no survivors, you have my sincerest condolences. He was a great credit to this empire and he will be remembered with honor,” the elder Galra stated solemnly. I was frozen, my brother stiff beside me. Father was…_

_“Thank you, Your Excellency. We are grateful for such sincerity in the face of Father’s passing,” Nyx responded in a strong voice. The Emperor nodded in approval._

_“I will leave you in peace. Vrepit Sa,” and with that the Emperor swept from the room._

_“Vrepit Sa,” we echoed but my voice was hardly a whisper. As soon as the door closed, I collapsed to the floor and sobbed. The Prince wrapped me up in a close embrace, tucking my face into his shoulder as Nyx leaned against our sides in silent tears and crooned softly to us._

_“Your father was a great man. I am sorry that you have lost him,” he said softly._

_I pulled back a bit and looked at him. Warm golden eyes and a gentle smile greeted me as I opened my mouth to call his name for the first time in our entire lives._

**_*_*_*_**

“Hideki!” I startled awake as someone shouted my name, gasping desperately for air. Arms wrapped tightly around me and I reached up to run my fingers through my brother’s hair, shushing him gently. He was shaking badly, the others surrounding us and breathing a sigh of relief.

“We thought you were gone for a minute there,” Shiro spoke. I shook my head.

“Crystal needed to show me something,” I wheezed, “I didn’t understand it though.”

“Maybe we can help?” Coran offered, making panic spear through my veins.

“ _No!_ ” I snapped out quickly. He flinched back at the volume I used but I quickly covered my stumble, “You don’t have to put yourself to any trouble. Tatsuma and I will figure it out, right?” I smiled at my brother, begging him to cover for me. He smirked and nodded back.

“Leave it to us. We’ll have it solved no problem,” he joked. The look he gave me though demanded an explanation the second we had a chance to be on our own. After a quick check over in the medical bay and fussing over Lance where he slept in one of the cryopods, we were allowed to leave. My brother had my hand in a near painful death-grip as he dragged me back to our bunk. I only had a second to brace myself as my brother pinned me firmly to the wall once the door had shut behind us.

“What the actual _FUCK_ , Hideki?” He hissed.

“Tatsuma, I know that you saw it too. Maybe it didn’t completely swallow you like it did me but _you saw it_ ,” I snarled back at him. I could still feel fur and scales alike on the skin of my cheeks, shivering with the pain of loss that wasn’t truly mine. _Not yet_.

“I know.” He sighed and seemed to visibly deflate, “That was us. It doesn’t matter what they were calling us, I would know you anywhere in a million lifetimes.” I pulled him into a hug, cradling him close as if to protect him as he slumped into my arms and hid his face in my shoulder. We slid to the floor and just held each other, grieving.

“We’ll see them again. More memories of that time and hopefully find out what really happened to us,” I soothed. He scoffed at that.

“You are irrationally calm about this.”

“Yes, well, I never felt like I belonged anywhere until I met you and then I felt like something was calling. A soul deep ache that screamed for something that I couldn’t name. Something that always slipped through my fingers like I was trying to catch smoke with my hands. It killed me and now the ache is gone. I’m close to finding it I’m sure, with every memory that sweeps me up in its grip.” Tatsu’s grip around my waist tightened to the point of almost choking me, begging me not to leave without words. I squeezed back just as fiercely.

“So what now? I’m assuming you have a crazy weird plan,” he teased.

“What do you take me for, an idiot? Of course, I have a crazy weird plan. I’ve got like a dozen of them _and_ contingency plans just in case they fail,” I huffed. That got him laughing.

“What’s the plan?” he pressed, eyes gleaming with trouble.

“I need you to go find out where they’re stowing that Galra Commander. I’ll handle my half while you’re gone and if you can I’d like you to keep the others distracted until I come to find you. Sound good?”

“You got it, to The Labyrinth!” he crowed as he jumped up and shot over to the vent, scrambling in. The worst villain laugh ever echoed down to me as he disappeared, getting a laugh from me as well. _Now for the craziest thing I’ve ever done._

 

**_*_*_*_**

I found my brother easily after I had finished, everyone crowded around the door of the training room and watching the crazy unfold. Tatsuma and Keith stood in the middle of the room as they circled each other.  The Red Paladin was breathing heavily but my brother hadn’t even broken a sweat, watching the younger man like a predator. The boy struck carelessly and my brother put an end to the fight with a well-placed punch to his stomach.

I clapped slowly from where I stood, gaining the attention of the whole room.

“Sorry to interrupt, but well played Brother Mine. I’d almost forgotten how fast you are,” I teased gently. He smirked in reply, all teeth and gave an over exaggerated bow.

“And I’ve completely forgotten what you are like in a fight at all, _Little Brother_. Care to spar or are you afraid?” I snarled at the taunt but let it slide, for now.

“Maybe another time. I see that you’ve had plenty of fun?” Keith groaned at my question from the training room floor. He lifted his head to stare in disbelief.

“Fun?” he wheezed. Tatsu and I looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

“Yeah, I wasn’t taking that fight seriously. If I had I could have injured you pretty badly,” my brother choked out. Pidge was poking at the boy where he lay defeated, Hunk hovering nearby in slight concern. Coran was trying not to laugh and Allura simply glared. Shiro was noticeably absent from the room but that was probably for the best. We quickly made our excuses and vanished into The Labyrinth, shutting the grate behind us to avoid discovery.

“So?” I prodded. Tatsu batted at me playfully and left me hanging a few moments longer.

“He’s in a tube on the Archive level, most likely they’ll try to extract as many memories as they can from him. I say we wait until everyone vacates but Shiro, then come back after a few hours and offer to take over watch duty. That’s when we should make our move. I already figured out how to loop and then fool the camera system in that part of the ship,” he explained.

“Sounds easy enough. So we wait for Lance to get out of the pod, that way everybody is distracted at all times by subconscious worry for the injured member of the team. I feel bad saying that because it’s Lance but…” I trailed off. Tatsu laughed at that before ruffling my hair and tugging my ponytail, teasing gently. It killed my over serious mood like he’d hoped.

“We can NOT get caught doing this.”

“You’re right Hideki, but we won’t. Somewhere inside us are dormant powers that are capable of all kinds of chaos. I’ve seen it flaring up with everything you consciously remember,” my brother soothed, “You worry too much.” I leaned up against his side, sighing heavily.

“We’re about to free a prisoner that tried to kill the others and definitely had a hand in torturing Shiro. I’m pretty sure we’ll get put in tubes ourselves if they find out,” I huffed. The tugging in my chest got stronger, knowing what we would be sending him away with and praying it didn’t turn around to bite me in the ass.

 

**_*_*_*_**

I ruffled Lance’s hair as he sat down at the table to get some food in him after his time in the pod. The whole group was gathered up, worry clear on everyone’s faces.

“How you feeling, querido? Still in mostly one piece?” I teased gently. That got him laughing, even if the others were looking at us completely confused and my brother just looked ready to flop over. Hunk at least seemed to understand what I had called him, probably not why though.

“Relájate, estoy bien!” He insisted. I poked his shoulder, earning a hiss and a pout.

“ _Sure_ you’re fine. Totally not sore,” I laughed.

“Whatever,” he turned to the others then, “So what happened?”

They filled him in pretty quick, he seemed pretty shocked as he listened and fed the mice off his own plate. Tatsu and I shared a surprised look as well, considering we’d been passed out through all of it. _That’s_ when Keith and Lance started arguing.

“I punched Sendak in the face!” Keith growled.

“Yeah after I woke up from a coma and shot his arm off,” Lance snarked back.

“We had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms!”

“Nope! Don’t remember. Didn’t happen,” Right well now would be a good time to step in. I put a hand over the Blue Paladin’s mouth, interrupting the rest of his insult and gave the Red one a look that shut him up as well.

“Fascinating as this is, I think discussion of what to do with the prisoner is a priority. Wouldn’t you agree Princess?” I suggested lightly. This was a game I had to play carefully to my own advantage, and while my memory of the previous Mage was fuzzy, I’d been taught exactly how to do so once. Allura looked ready to murder me as the rest of the group turned to her, Coran equally upset as the others. Not telling her advisor? Bad move.

“I don’t see what there is to discuss. He is to be contained and preserved until he eventually expires of natural causes,” she huffed imperiously. It was Coran’s turn to look fit to commit murder at those words.

“Allura you cannot make such decisions alone. This is not a dictatorship,” he scolded in a rather loud voice. My brother and I shared another look, ‘ _Didn’t think he had it in him.’_

“He’s right,” Shiro cut in, “You may be a Princess but none of us actually answer to you.”

“Yeah, we should be making choices about things like this as a team. Weren’t you just telling us as much?” Pidge piped up. She was adorable, I liked her already.

“Fine! What do you all think should be done then?” Allura snarled. Warning bells went off in the back of my skull, _angry Altean equals nothing good._

“We should interrogate him,” Tatsuma spoke. I looked at him with a raised brow.

“How? Letting him out would be too risky,” Shiro responded. Tatsu looked at me then.

“Technicality in our advantage. Option one: you have me,” I looked at the others in mild annoyance, “Mage isn’t just a title y’know. Option two: we use the ships computer systems to essentially download all of his memories into a containment unit.”

“Hang on a minute. If it’s not just a title, then what does it mean?” Hunk asked, voicing the question on everyone’s mind excluding my brother and Coran.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes to focus on creating a vibration in my chest and letting it build up. I felt it climbing up my throat and released it with the breath I was holding, a bright neon pink bubble flowing out of my mouth to hover in the air. I threw it at my brother, watching it pop on contact with his hand and send him sliding back several feet with an earsplitting boom. I turned back to my shocked audience, black spots spinning across my vision, and raised an eyebrow in clear challenge. Lance stood up and steadied me, _was I swaying? Or was the room moving?_

“How much did that take out of you? Truth only,” he scolded.

“Enough to make me dizzy, but I’m fine. Holding someone down is easier,” I huffed, “Well. In theory at least, I haven’t actually tried it myself yet.”

“Well, if I’m honest, I was worried that you wouldn’t have the ability. Luckily I was wrong,” Coran chirped, “Now we just have to see if your brother does too.”

“Yeah. That’s not happening outside of a training room and even then I’d have to get riled up,” Tatsuma deadpanned. He took me from Lance and let me rest my full weight on him, frowning at Allura. She looked ready to explode but kept her own council, thank the Gods.

“What does the second option include?” Shiro pressed.

“He would stay in his pod, we’d just have to hook a containment unit up to it. Easier on the young Mage I’d think,” Coran answered. I nodded, reluctant to agree but I needed to gather my power again. I couldn’t fail in my personal mission.

“We’ll do that then. Let’s go,” the Black Paladin agreed.

“Um, guys, before we all head off I have something to tell you,” Pidge called, “I’m a girl.”

 

**_*_*_*_**

“Hey Shiro,” Tastu called out to the lone man, “How goes the download?”

“Oh, hey you two. I’m not really sure to be honest,” the paladin sighed. I placed my hand on his shoulder and smiled gently. I felt bad about it but this had to be done.

“Why don’t you go rest? We can take over the watch,” I told him softly. He seemed surprised by the offer and just a bit suspicious. _Crap, come on Tatsu cover me here!_

“You look like you’re about to fall over and we just came from taking a nap. Go lay down for a while, we can handle whatever happens since we are completely awake and you won’t be. A good leader listens to advice wouldn’t you think?” _Thank you, Brother Mine._

“You’re right,” he smiled at us, “thanks guys.” We returned the smile until he was out of sight, dropping into determined glares as soon as he was gone. I approached the pod, Tatsuma standing guard at my back and already surging power through the cameras to spin an illusion. Placing my hand on the surface of the glass, I slipped into the Commander’s mind and forced him awake. The large Galra startled, breathing hard and immediately zeroing in on me.

“Listen up and listen _well_. I’m willing to free you, but there are conditions to your release. Are you willing to hear them, at _least_?” I hissed at him. He glared down at me.

“Not as if I can walk away, now is it?” Sendak growled back. _Fair enough_.

“You ensure two messages reach their intended recipients, and we let you out. We will also provide you with a shuttle and a clue to the only safe haven left for you in your failure. Sound like a fair trade?” I proposed. He seemed shocked that I would want so little in exchange.

“Messages? That’s all you ask?”

“Yes, but getting these transmissions to them will not be easy. They will have to go through extremely secure channels and be seen by no one else but the ones they are intended for. You can _not_ be caught as the delivery man,” I explained as I examined my nails. He huffed a laugh at that, understanding the catch now and smile he gave was dangerous.

“Very well. I assume none of the others are aware you are doing this?” He growled threateningly. A flash of a memory, General Rylaz, no, My Father making the same sound. I would not cower away from this man, for I had met more powerful and truly frightening people in my lifetimes. I would _not_ give up after putting myself and my brother in so my danger.

“Not even remotely,” I responded calmly, “Do I have your agreement?”

“Let me out of this awful thing already,” he conceded. I grinned, sharper than he had moments before and tapped in the right sequence on the controls. He stepped out cautiously, ears rotating as he did, clearly expecting a trap. I shut the pod behind him.

“Dex take over for me? I need to be able to track where the others are as we move,” Tatsuma chirped curiously. I nodded, ejecting the pod out into space and turning to face them. A brush against my mind and I took the thread from him, letting my mind adjust to keep up the illusion my brother had set.

“Let’s go,” he called and with that the three of us were off.

 

**_*_*_*_**

“Commander,” I called softly. Sendak looked up from the controls of the shuttle as I walked up to him, holding out my hand palm up and revealing the data chips I had been carrying. “Seek out the Blade of Marmora once you have insured these have reached their destination. They may provide you aide,” I smirked cruelly, “ _For a price._ ”

He glared at me before snatching the chips from my hand, I turned away and exited the shuttle quickly. We could only fool the cameras so much longer.

 

**_*_*_*_**

We reached the bridge just in time, a ghostlike image guiding the ship toward a dying star. It turned to us as we entered and I nearly fell over from the flood of memories that hit as we locked eyes. _Monster, Tyrant, Kit killer, Traitor, We trusted You-_

**_“Impossible!”_** It hissed, **_“You died! I saw the bodies, you took your own lives like cowards!”_**

A snarl, like a raging animal, ripped out of my throat alongside a voice that was not my own. I could feel my eyes shining, likely having turned white with all the power coursing through my veins, as Helios spoke for the first time in over 10,000 years.

“ _Alfor of Altea_. You dare call _me_ a coward? You who was determined to see the _extinction_ of half-breed Alteans, because a Druid spoke a prophecy? You were a _Tyrant_ and a _child murderer!_ Your empire stood on a foundation of _fear!_ You _deserved_ what you got! I would take my life again if it means _My Kit is safe_ from you even though you are long dead!” I snapped. Everyone in the room stared on in shock as we argued, before he paused and flickered away. All of the power drained away in a heartbeat and I stumbled to the side, feeling my brother catch me as I blacked out.

 

**_*_*_*_**

Zarkon sat a bit straighter at his desk as an audio file reached his private channel. _Who in all the universe,_ he wondered as he opened it and froze as the first few notes floated into the air.

“It can’t be…” This voice had been lost to him for over 10,000 years, stolen by the endless silence of death and the stars in their cold embrace.

**_‘ I’m not a perfect person, I never meant to do those things to you. And so I have to say before I go, that I just want you to know~ I found a reason for me, to change who I used to be. A reason to start over new, and the reason is you. I found a reason to show~ a side of me you didn’t know. A reason for all that I do, and the reason is you…’_** the voice slowly tapered off.

_That couldn’t be it, there had to be more to it, where had this file even come from to begin with? How had it even gotten so far without being caught and erased by unknowing hands?_

The Emperor stood and began the procedures to track the file down, but not before saving a copy onto his datapad. First the reappearance of the Crystal Lion and now this? Why would the dead not rest and simply leave in peace, he wondered as he proceeded to retire for a few hours.

 

**_*_*_*_**

**So that happened. Plot has been dropped. Do the twins know more than they’re letting on to the Voltron crew? Let’s see where this goes and, hey, next time comes the Iron Lion and his Crew. Bit of a timeskip between the end of this chapter and the start of the next though. Fair warning. Till next time~**


	3. Chapter 3

**I hate how busy it gets at my local college…. Anyway, hi guys! New chapter time, new characters, shit going down, good times! I hope you enjoy!**

**_*_*_*_**

“Fuck!” I shrieked as the alarms went off, poor Tatsu falling out of the bed and scrambling to his feet. We rushed up to the control room in time to see a giant gunmetal grey lion come out of a wormhole not too far ahead of us, cruising closer and doing lazy spirals.

“Iron!” We called excitedly. Finally, the last of the Defenders had arrived and it meant certain victory. Allura turned to us, annoyed, and the Paladins were all jostling for a better look. Coran seemed on the verge of tears. I honestly couldn’t blame him, I was on the verge of crying too. A flash of a memory; A young female Galra, a pair of Altean boys within five years of her age, and a mermaid like woman. The previous crew were good people and I prayed that the new one would be too. The hailing signal chimed and Coran was quick to answer, despite Allura’s protests on the matter.

 ** _“This is Ranger-Class Destroyer, Titanicles, requesting permission to return to its hangar within the Castle of Lions. Permission to dock?”_ ** That voice, I knew that voice, why did I know that voice? Coran was bouncing around like a kid on a sugar high as Shiro spoke up.

“This is the Black Paladin of Voltron, permission to dock is granted. Welcome home,” he called back. There were a few cheers in the background as the voice first voice laughed, growing serious again and responding properly.

**_“Copy that, and hey, did Adamantia and her crew make it here okay?”_ **

“We did!” Tatsu chirped.

“We’re excited to see you guys!” I chimed in. There was more excitement over the feed before we got our reply.

 ** _“So are we. Hey Paladin,”_** Shiro looked up, **_“It’s good to be Home.”_ ** The transmission cut and the Iron made his way forward to meet us, Coran scrambling out of the control room with us on his heels for the other Dual Hangar Bay onboard. I heard the others call out and rushing to catch up as we ran down to the lower decks. The Red Lion sat up as we waited for Iron to land and the room to seal itself properly, running in to stand in front of him as soon as it was safe. He was easily three times bigger than the Black Lion, rumbling a purr that echoed like lazy thunder and lowering his head to the ground in order let his Scouts disembark.

The group of four exited slowly in full armor but something was off. Was that… a baby? And then the helmets came off, revealing four people I never thought we would see again.

“Dani! Brian! Lane! Orazal!” I squealed and tackled the closest member of the group in a hug, Lane quick to return the hold. Tatsu was bouncing around us excitedly, chattering their ears off and Dani mimicking his contagious energy. Orazal was rolling her eyes as she bounced Baby Girl on her hip but she was smiling too. Brian was teasing us all gently for being ridiculous. It felt like home.

Shiro cleared his throat behind us, everyone else standing around and waiting for a proper introduction. I let go of Lane reluctantly and smiled shyly, embarrassed now.

“Right. These are our friends from back home, they must have been picked after we took off. Starting closest to me is Lane,” I started off. Lane waved, calm and smiling lazily. He wasn’t too much taller than me, wild and curly hair shining a mix of sandy gold and dark browns. His eyes were a swirl of blues, greens, almost grey in some light. He was thin, gold skinned, and a whole new level of laid back.

“I’m Dani!” she introduced, twin black ponytails swinging as she turned away from my brother. She was almost as tall as Lane, pale, and built like a fighter. Her personality was obviously bright and friendly, but Gods she could be salty. The grin she wore was wide but savage, though that wasn’t what really got people’s attention about her. Her right eye was a violent shade of purple like Keith’s and her left eye was shining galra yellow.

“Brian, nice to meet you.” Brian was the tallest of us, although he had a nasty habit of slouching. He was lanky but stronger than he looked, an easygoing smile and blue-green hazel eyes hiding one hell of sadistic streak. His hair was a bright golden blonde and neatly styled.

“This,” Tatsu finished up, “is Orazal and her daughter.” Orazal was a walking, talking force of nature when she needed to be. Loud, bright eyed, and very confident in herself, she was not the type to roll over and take it if you tried to push her around. She was roughly Dani’s height, slim but wiry and you didn’t want to be on the wrong end of those sharp elbows in a fight. Long earth brown hair was swept up in a bun, brown eyes shining with mischief, and skin a gorgeous shade of bronze. Her daughter was hiked up on her hip, looking around curiously and I kinda wondered how they had her strapped in for the ride here.

“It’s good to finally be here,” she sighed. Tatsu carefully took Baby Girl from her and distracted the little one to give the poor woman a break. The paladins were quick to intermingle, excited to see more humans as Allura hung back and Coran bounced around unsure how to approach.

“Good to put a name and face to the voice. Pleased to meet you Captain,” Shiro greeted as he shook Brian’s hand. They were quickly lost in conversation, none of us approaching. Lane was engaging Pidge, Lance cooing at the little one in Tastuma’s arms, and Hunk talking food with Dani who seemed to have brought a fair supply with her. Keith was hovering awkwardly near me, so I dragged him along to talk with Zal for a bit and watched him bloom as she teased him with a fond smile. Dani stole him eventually, talking garrison nonsense.

“How you been, Babe?” I asked Zal softly. She gave me a tired smile and hip checked me, “I’m fine. Exhausted, keeping up with this kid but still tough as nails.” I hugged her tight and she patted my shoulder as the princess finally cut in.

“Paladins, Scouts, Mage and Warrior.” We all stood to attention, “Welcome Home to the Castle of Lions. The Universe waits for no one and you are called to its defense once again.”

“The Princess is right. Everybody up to the bridge, let’s brief and see what we can’t figure out about our next move,” Coran chirped. All of us exited the hangar, following orders and grouping up by Defender crew. Allura looked like the authority figure she was for once as she stood before us, rather than a little girl wearing a crown far too big for her.

“The Galra Empire grows by the day. We must plan our next moves carefully and nip as many invasions as we can in the bud. It is to my understanding that the Crystal and Iron Lions have Teledav systems?” She looked at Coran and I for confirmation.

“Crystal is in a bad way after what happened on the Balmera. And even if she wasn’t? The Teledav hasn’t worked since she arrived on Earth according to her, ninety percent of her systems haven’t been working properly from the second we arrived. She needs major repair work done, parts replaced, a system flush, I could keep going if you want?” I sneered, arms crossing over my chest. “That’s not counting the fact your Paladins are undertrained, the Scouts don’t know what form their bayards will even take, Tatsu and I are rusty.”

“He’s right,” Zal chimed in, “Iron is in the same shape. The Castle seems to be just as badly off as our Lions and we don’t know how well the other Lions are functioning. We should be focusing on getting ourselves to full capacity.” I smiled at her as Shiro stepped in before Allura blew her top.

“I agree. We should spend time learning our weapons and improving on our team work. Let’s set course for a safe system and make use of the time we have,” Shiro offered. The Black Paladin seemed determined to keep the peace between us all after what had happened when the Castle turned on its inhabitants. The princess caved at that, dismissing us all to the common room. We collapsed onto the couches, chattering about nothing.

“Okay, so Keith knows Dani. Story?” Lance insisted. The girl in question laughed and sat up a little straighter.

“So, I was actually in the same class as you guys. One night, god knows why, they stick me on patrol duty and I’m chilling next to the delivery entrance. All of a sudden this fucking hover bike comes out of nowhere and I’m like _‘The fuck is this?!’_ Then Keith here jumps off and starts running at me and I’m like _‘Holy shit WHAT THE FUCK?!’_   So I scream at him to wait! And he just freezes. I tell him ‘ look dude, nice crazy assassin thing you’ve got going there, but if you get in on _MY_ watch I’m gonna get in so much trouble, they’ll kick me out, please man I’m begging you here’ and I start crying as I ramble. Keith, for his part, panics and tries to get me to stop crying and promises he’s not going to get me in trouble. Hops back on his bike and takes off. Just like that. That’s the story of how I met Keith,” Dani cackles.

“WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?!” Keith shrieked in embarrassment over all of us in various states of laughter. I dragged myself off the couch and stretched, skipping off to the door.

“Right well, if anyone needs me I’m gonna be in the hangar and working on Crystal.” I called over my shoulder. Footsteps scrambled behind me, Shiro and Lance appearing in my periphery.

“Mind company, _querido?_ I’m happy to help out!” Lance chirped.

“Sure thing. Shiro?” I prodded lightly. He startled slightly, clearing his throat.

“Actually, I was hoping to ask you about why Black seems so attached to Crystal..”His voice was strained like he was expecting me to get defensive or something. I just laughed.

“Come on down with us in that case. We can talk while I work.”

 

**_*_*_*_**

Crystal was happy to see us, bounding up and chasing her tail like an actual cat. Black was laying on his side on the other side of the hangar, quietly amused. I ran to Crystal and jumped as high as I could, she caught me in her jaws gently. I could hear the other two panicking as I walked into the cockpit and turned on the intercom.

**_“Chill out. It’s not like she can actually eat me, what do you think she is? A Weblum?”_ **

“Don’t do that!” Lance shrieked. Shiro had a hand on his chest like he’d almost had a heart attack. I chuckled softly, starting to go through the check systems on the control panel and getting a feel for what might be priority. The fuel systems and Quintessence Injectors were vital, they also seemed to have the most damage.

I flipped the necessary switches to release the compartment doors, jogging to the back of the cabin to grab my tool box and then exiting. Using the straps, I secured the thing to my back and scaled up Crystal’s jaw. Setting it down, the compartment at the back of her neck opened with a bit of tugging. The tubes were worn, wires frayed, and just an all around mess.

“Gods baby, time has not been kind to you.” I got straight to work. The Quintessence Regulator Valve was easy to close, the tube coming loose with a small tug and swiftly replaced. I opened the valve back up and got to work on replacing all the wires. I heard feet against metal and then the boys were next to the compartment opening.          

“That is gnarly,” Lance gasped softly. I hummed back in response, not wanting to get anything in my mouth considering that I was covered in goop of unspeakable origin. I popped back out, grabbing a rag from my kit and giving myself a quick wipe down before diving back in. The Central Cortex was heavily damaged and was actually dented in several places. Crawling almost all the way in, I focused as much power as I could into my fingers and forced out the dents.

“Black and Crystal are bonded. They chose each other long before they met us, although I suppose the fact that the previous Mage and the Black Paladin choosing to spend their lives together may have actually strengthened the connection between them.” Telling them all this while doing repairs was soothing, “The first instinct on seeing their partner again was to secure their bond. So, they ejected the three of us.”

“I didn’t know they could do that, I mean, they’re just robots. Right?” Shiro wondered aloud. I nearly hit my head pulling back to look at him. He couldn’t possibly be serious, could he? Judging off the look he was giving me, they all did.

“No.. you do know that they’re all alive, right? We didn’t build them, we found and repaired them…” I explained hesitantly. Shiro appeared surprised, as did Lance, at the concept.

“I guess I should explain. Crystal, can you broadcast for me please?” She rumbled an affirmative, a flash of quintessence providing me with a mic and a screen. “Thank you. The original five Paladins were leaders among their respective people, convening on Galra turf for trade negotiations during some fairly odd weather patterns, when this comet crashes to the surface. Luckily, the place it landed was unpopulated but it was checked on anyway and what do they find? Black encased in crystalized quintessence. They excavated him, studied him, did repairs, and he bonded to his chosen Paladin. The same thing happened with the other Elemental Lions. Crystal and Iron were unexpected. They landed on their Paladins planets and clung like parasites.” Black growled at me, making me laugh as I continued working and telling their story. “Crystal needed complete rebuilding in certain sections, so did Iron. The Black Paladin recommended three Galra he knew could be trusted to do the engineering feats. Denikari, Nyx, and technically Helios. I say technically because if you looked at the guy or did his bloodwork you would think he was an Altean, and from a DNA standpoint I suppose he was.”

“Wait, you suppose? What’s that even supposed to mean?” Lance cut in, looking extremely confused. I just smiled at him.

“A story for another time, I think. May I continue?” He had the decency to blush at my scolding, nodding shyly. Shiro smiled at me and I did everything I could to avoid blushing myself. _He’s pretty, okay?_ “Helios and Nyx were brothers, close as any pair of twins could be, Crystal chose them because they fit her standards. Denikari was a River Galra but although Iron chose her, he did not allow her into the cockpit. Byron and Lyric were chosen from Altea’s alchemy guild to assist her and Iron chose them as well, allowing more access to him but still not his controls. Orum’Aila was the last, a volunteer from Nalquod, as soon as she was within range Iron made his final choice and started to work with his crew. The six of them were very close friends and were on good terms with the Paladins except Alfor. That one kept to himself a tad too much. It took years to get as far as they did and become the Legend they are today.”

“So they really are alive?” Shiro prodded.

“Yes, and they can understand you just fine. All the bonds are unique, you need to find the rhythm that works best for you as a pair.” I said quietly, finishing up and pulling my hands back to wipe down. As soon as I was clean and had my tools put up, I closed the compartment before moving on to the next one. Shiro and Lance followed, joking and making conversation with me to pass the time.

 _Maybe,_ something whispered inside me, _this time things will end well._

**_*_*_*_**

**_“All hands to the training deck!”_** Allura called over the speakers. I groaned, having just gotten out of the shower, Tatsu giggling from inside his workout shirt. _Little shit._ I threw on a pair of leggings and a tank, pulling my hair into a secure bun as we walked. Everybody else was already there and I draped myself all over Zal with a quiet whine. She pet my hair in mock sympathy. Allura didn’t look impressed.

“What are you wearing? That hardly seems appropriate for a combat situation…” she sneered. Six of us rolled our eyes. I straightened up and walked to my designated area of the training room with Tatsu on my heels, ignoring her protests.

“Safety Protocol: XJ9 dash 3372A.” A particle barrier snapped into place, “Lower sound boards. Simulation Code: 5G. No Drones,” I instructed. Panels came down from the ceiling and I tapped my foot lightly to get a feel for the echo. Once I had it, Tatsu and I faced each other.

Locking eyes and breathing deep, we gripped one another by the fore arm as we dove to the source of power inside us both. It burned white hot under our skin, mine starting to vibrate as familiar music filled the air and we let go. I swept my leg wide, flinging a wave of sound and light at a target. No, not light. Quintessence. I danced across the mats, moving so smoothly I almost forgot where I really was. Part of me was expecting him to just snatch me up and dance with me. I hit my knees in a blast big enough to make the barrier shake. I let go of my power and collapsed face first on the mat, sore in places I didn’t think could get sore.

A thump on my right signaled my brother joining me, I peeked at him exhausted. Deep bronze skin soaked in sweat, hair a tangled fluff the color of ink and gasping like he’d nearly drowned. I poked him in the shin with my foot, giggling at him as he just wrinkled his nose and whined at me. I couldn’t have stopped the giggle if I wanted to, contagious enough that he joined in and soon enough my sides were aching from it. Tatsu hauled himself up and nudged me with his foot.

I stood slowly, a little sore but still able to work out.  One look through the barrier though…. Everyone was staring. Coran was absolutely beaming, but Allura and the Paladins were drop jawed. The usual gaggle of dorks were almost surprised but they knew I was stand offish and ready to snarl over things I considered personal on a good day. My brother softened out the barrier and pulled Dani and Lance inside, the others pounding on the suddenly solid again wall of energy.

“Wanna dance?” Tatsu casually invited. Dani rushed me and picked me up in a spin, Lance giving a shy nod. I hummed a few notes, then the oddest thing occurred. I could see it moving, see quintessence dancing and rippling in waves. I put a foot on one and was lifted up as a ripple of golden sound formed under me like a platform, bouncing my feet on it lightly. It felt like a…. I jumped up, bouncing when I came back down on it: like a trampoline.

“Me too! C’mon!” Dani shouted up at me. A snap of my fingers and she was floating up along with Lance and Tatsu. We shared a look of pure excitement and bounced. The platform grew to accommodate us as we jumped and goofed around to the music. Dani and Lance looked absolutely ecstatic, Tatsu grinning just as wide as I was. Once the music started to fade the platform lowered us back to the floor.

“End protocols and return sound boards,” Tatsu called. The panels returned to the ceiling and the barrier fell, Hunk coming forward to snatch Lance up in a hug with a suspicious glare at the two of us. Dani was bouncing around still, Zal grabbing her by the shoulders to try and ease her hyperness. Allura looked fit to burst.

“That was highly unorthodox,” She hissed. I shrugged, scratching at my arm casually and avoiding her gaze. My skin was killing me but I couldn’t figure out why… I was still using lotion but the itch was starting to stray into burning. Tatsu was having the same problem and I had seen blood just this morning. The Princess was still glaring though, “Look your Highness. I know what my instincts are telling me and if these are my abilities, then I’m clearly going to train differently. I apologize if this disturbs you.”

“What disturbs me is the fact that Sendak’s pod registered as empty just before it was launched and one of our shuttles is missing,” Allura accused calmly. My brother and I bristled at that, standing close to guard each other as Iron’s pilots joined us. She was clever enough to notice, good for her. But I was good at this game.

“Locking the archives down and hiding the entrance from your Paladins is more disturbing. They would be further along in their training if you hadn’t,” I mused. Tatsu and Dani’s snickering was enough to make me smile as the other’s burst into protests, walking out of the training room for the showers. The other’s chattered as we headed along but Zal got an arm around my neck.

“What was that even about? You don’t seriously plan to butt heads at every turn with her do you Dex?” Zal scolded. That got a sigh out of me, shoulders slumping and leaning into her side. “No… But she’s an extremely sheltered little girl trying to wear Daddy’s too big crown. It’s pissing me off and I just-“ She laughed as I made a strangling motion, “I promise to start behaving better. I’m the adult so I should act like it.” Zal squeezed me closer in a hug.

“That’s all I wanted, asshole.”

 

**_*_*_*_**

The alarms went off and sent us into a panic, rushing into our armor then down to the control room. Shiro was already there in armor as well, Brian and Lane tumbling in next. Dani was trying to help Zal calm the baby, both of them in pajamas. Keith was looking pale and panicked behind them, Hunk right on his heels. Pidge appeared from the vents and Lance came in last.

Coran cut the alarms with a disappointed sigh, “In a real world situation we need to be faster. It’s a matter of life and death y’know!” I flopped down on the floor butt first and sat cross legged, glaring at the man. _Not cool dude, not cool._ “Now! Let’s see if we can’t calm the wee one, I do apologize for the scare she got.” Lance plucked her out of Dani’s hands, making goofy faces at her and cooing in Spanish. She stopped wailing to stare at him, shocked that somebody besides her mother was speaking it to her and started to pap his cheeks.

We all headed down to the lounge and spread out along the couches, Lance and Hunk completely absorbed by Baby Girl. I huffed and turned to glare when someone poked my shoulder, raising a brow at Shiro. “What do you want?”

“You said something about archives… Do you think you can open them?” He asked softly. Technically I could access them from here and if the ship’s coding wasn’t too badly degraded or changed since Helios had been here… “I mean, probably? I’m not sure but I can give it a shot.” Focusing power into my fingers, I swiped across the air in front of me and brought up a control screen. _Okay.. Now what? C’mon memory, kick in!_ Looking  over the screen I spotted a menu that was familiar, tapping on it and going through the motions by muscle memory.

 _Now where is the- aha!_ I opened the archive menu and was blocked by a dancing Coran. Oh this I knew how to get around. A few minutes of fiddling with the thing and I had the archives reopened and ready for use. Most of the records from before Allura’s birth were locked down though, I would get those open later. Pidge was gleefully rifling through them already and I had to blink as the ghost of another took her place for a moment.

“Thanks,” Shiro sighed in relief as he clapped my shoulder. The alarms went off again, Coran’s voice blaring over the speakers. **_“Real Emergency! This is not a drill! We’ve got some cruisers on our tail!”_**

 

**_*_*_*_**

**Oh would you look at that, a cliff hanger. Next chapter somebody has a brush with death! But who? I’ll let you guys stew on that.**


	4. Chapter 4

**_*_*_*_**

“Everybody armor up, now! Get Baby Girl to the bridge, she’s safest with Coran. Destruction waits for no one so get to your Lions yesterday people, let’s move!” I ordered. Shiro stared at me in surprise and I felt dread slide down my back, _was it obvious I knew maybe too much?_ Iron’s pilots had already rushed off but the Paladins sat back unsure. Shiro nodded and they ran off to follow the instructions. “I’m sorry, they’re your crew I shouldn’t have…”

“It’s fine. You had it right, just took me from my blind spot is all.” The larger man reassured me as he headed for the door, clapping me hard on the back. Tatsu grinned next to me, “He has a nicer ass than you know who. Plus he’s nice!” A punch to the gut shut him up.

 

**_*_*_*_**

**_“Voltron has arrived!”_ **

**_“Shut up, Lance!”_ **

I sighed and almost turned off the comm unit in my helmet, _were they seriously bickering right now?_ My brother giggled next to me, “They remind you of anyone?” That got a laugh out of me too but I quickly refocused. Crystal rolled past an Ion cannon blast and we punched her forward to take it out.

 ** _“I’ve got a plan,”_** Brian called over as Iron pulled up alongside us. **_“It’s a stupid plan.”_** Dani huffed, before a smack came over the background. **_“Anyway! I think a small crew boards the ship and hacks in, Pidge? Whaddya think?”_**

 ** _“I like this idea. Shiro?”_   S**ilence followed over the radio before he spoke up, **_“I don’t know. What about the Galra on board?”_**

“They’re scrambling for escape pods, the medic bay, and bridge according to Crystal’s thermal. The ships appear to be in full disaster protocol,” Tatsu responds automatically, “Crew Leader’s call.” I nodded and chimed in, “Mage calling Adamantia’s approval.”

 ** _“Scout Captain calling Titanicles’ approval,”_ ** Brian echoed. Whoops and hollers sounded from his end as the others cheered. Iron and Crystal faced the Black Lion, waiting on Shiro’s word. A frustrated sigh came over the comm.

**_“Black Paladin calling Voltron’s approval… but I’m saying it right now. I don’t like this.”_ **

“Crystal still has hangar clearance according to what little I can access from out here, We’ll lead the landing team. Brian scoot our way and ride with us,” Tatsuma instructed. Crystal nabbed him out of his free float once Iron had spit him out. “Shiro, Pidge, bring your lions around and stay tight on our tail. We’re going in.”

Crystal turned and headed for the main flag ship, Green and Black flying close behind. I entered our access codes, frowning when the system hesitated and entering my old imperial override. The hangar’s barrier lowered itself and we were inside. We rushed down to Crystal’s jaws, wanting to get boots on the ground fast. Shiro and Pidge flanked us as we moved forward, bayards at the ready. We slipped past several drone patrols and injured soldiers on the way to one of the archive hubs.

“Here we are. Tatsu, Pidge, get to it. We’ll keep guard,” I mumbled. My eyes were already scanning the hallway for movement, Brian crouched at my left and Shiro hesitating on my right. “Won’t they need my hand to access it?”

“Apparently not. Tatsu, how the hell do you know how to read Galra?” Pidge spoke up, curious but wary. My brother smirked and went back to opening as much as he could for the tiny hacker.

“All of Crystal’s systems are in Galra. We know how to operate her, so same basic concept I suppose?” I offered. We had to be more careful if we wanted this to work in our favor, the Paladins finding out the truth would have to wait a while longer if we were going to survive the backlash. I saw Brian’s bayard flash to active and turned to see him fire several shots, “Crossbow…. Neat.”

“I mean, I’m impressed. That you know how to fire it that is. The form is neat too,” I teased. A squeeze of my hands activating my own bayards, a pair of battle fans ready to go. “I prefer a more elegant weapon.”

“My hand lights up?” Shiro offered up awkwardly. I smiled at him as Pidge squealed behind us.

“I’ve got prison records and all the transfer orders too! Not to mention all the schematics for every ship design in the fleet, supply movements, this is amazing! I even got some historical records from the early years of Zarkon’s reign!” She chattered excitedly. _Well, that probably isn’t good._ I glared at my brother but he only shrugged.

“We should get back to the hangars soon. It’s not safe to linger,” Tatsu spoke up. They disconnected and covered their tracks, the group moving back the way we came. We had gotten into the main hangar but they had anticipated that. A Druid and a group of drones stood between us and the Lions. I dropped low and firmed my stance, “Pidge get to your lion no matter what. Shiro, Brian, handle the drones. Tatsu and I can handle him.”

“Your Imperial Grace. Please come peacefully,” the Druid pleaded.

“Suck a dick you wannabe.” I spat and lunged, sweeping my leg around to fling a wave of quintessence at him. A platform appeared, quickly using it as a springboard to come down on him from above like a comet and cracking his head against the floor. _“Your ass is grass and I’m gonna mow it.”_

Tatsu was at my back, rolling and moving with me as the Druid stood. He came after us hard and made it damn hard to maneuver around him, but we were holding out. The Green Lion roared, bolting out of the hangar to make a quick get away and distracting the drones. Shiro and Brian were making good progress from the glances I could spare them.

Tatsu’s bayard was a good fit for him, he knew how to use a katana extremely well as our opponent was finding out. He took a slice at the masked being and dealt some actual damage. “Got you now, asshole!”

“Not quite.”

Time seemed to stop. My brother was falling backwards, face twisted in pain. The image blurred with the past, Nyx dying, bleeding out on the cell floor. No, No, _No,_ **_NO!_** My skin felt like it was on fire as I let out an unholy shriek of rage. A wall of golden quintessence slammed the Druid away, drowning it as I ran to Tatsu. He’s still breathing, we can save him. I grabbed his bayard and slung him over my shoulder, rushing to Crystal’s jaw where Brian was waiting for us. He took my brother from me and I sighed in relief. Too soon it seemed, something crashing into me from behind. I saw black.

 

**_*_*_*_**

**_"Mustache Man to the Medic bay now!”_** Brian was panicked. One of his friends was bleeding out and the other had a massive third degree burn across his entire back. _What the hell had they signed up for? Magic was not a listed hazard!_ The robo lion growled at him and he hurried to take his friends and leave, the Scout knew when he wasn’t wanted.

Shiro ran over to them and picked up the smaller of the two, “What happened?”

“The fuck if I know! There was a light and he hit the deck passed out cold with that burn. They’re kinda _on Death’s doorstep,_ can we talk details later?” The blonde snapped.

The others were all waiting in the infirmary, helping them change the injured pilots and get them into the healing pods. Coran punched in the proper codes and sighed as the pods sealed themselves. “Well, that was extremely close but they’re going to be just-“ an alarm on the console cut him off. He deflated, “Fine…” The older Altean checks the alert and chokes. _That can’t be right. There’s no way that’s right._

“Coran what is it?” Allura prodded gently. He straightened up and cleared his throat.

“I thought the resemblance was uncanny but it seems it runs deeper than that. The pods detected DNA and biorhythms that it recognized and is doing extreme full body repairs,” Coran explains calmly. “We are in the presence of Royalty. People we thought lost before the war even began, the loss that started the war in the first place.”

Everyone in the room turned to the pods and stared in shock. _Just who were the twins?_

 

**_*_*_*_**

I woke up dizzy and freezing. _Why was everything louder?_ Hands wrapped around my wrists and something clamped around them, hard. That woke me up completely. “What the fuck? Why am I cuffed?” Pidge looked away.

“I want that **_Galra Scum_** thrown out the airlock! I don’t care who he is, he’s about to be _dead!_ ” Allura was clearly having a tantrum. _Wait, Galra? Tatsu… **Where was Tatsu!?**_ I scanned the room for my brother spotting a figure out of my distant memory and realizing what had happened. He still seemed disoriented and wobbled on his feet as they started to drag him off. “Get away from my brother you back stabbers!”

“Calm down, you’re safe now and you can explain to us-“ I blasted the princess and everyone else back several feet, rushing over to Tatsu so I could burrow into his side. Big arms wrapped around me then lifted me up to rest against the much taller being’s chest and cradled me there. I butted my head lightly against his chin, earning a purr.

“You’re okay right? They didn’t hurt you? I’m _so sorry_ Tatsu this is all my fault, I should’ve been at your side defending you from that wannabe!”

“I’m okay. You couldn’t have known and besides, we’re alive. Not to mention we look like ourselves again. That’s good right?” Tatsu tried to soothe. I heard someone step closer and turned to glare down at them, relaxing a little when I realized it was just Coran.

“I hate to be rude, but we must escort the both of you to a cell. If you’d be so kind as to cooperate I would greatly appreciate it,” his voice was gentle. We looked at each other and then back to him, nodding. We could always trust Coran, no matter how much time had passed.

“Lead the way,” We chimed.

 

**_*_*_*_**

**Okay, chapter 5 isn’t quite finished yet but it’s going well! The twins are in Castle Jail, so attempted interrogations, story time, and learning how to interact with eachother is in our future. Stay tuned!!**


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